How to effectively beat the competition in e-commerce?

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

The estimated value of the e-commerce market was about $5.7 trillion in 2022. It is, also, one of the fastest growing sectors of the Polish economy. A growing number of companies are choosing to implement digital solutions in B2B sales. In just 5 years, the value of the Polish e-commerce market has increased several times. In 2021, it exceeded 100 billion zlotys. Statistics included in the PMR report show that by 2027 the value of online product sales will reach a record 187 billion zlotys in Poland. Such a situation is beneficial for the increasing competition of the market. There are currently many companies in this sector offering their products to customers. Read the article and learn how to effectively win against the competition in e-commerce. Find out what actions can bring your business the biggest benefits, including customer trust. 

E-commerce market analysis  

Market analysis is one of the most important activities you should engage in while running an e-commerce business. In this way you can get a great deal of essential data needed for business development. What information about your competition is worth checking?   

• Their business model; 
• How they source products;   
• Do they run dropshipping;   
• What is their pricing and marketing strategy;   
• How their return policy looks like;   
• What type of e-commerce platform they use;   
• What branding features they use;   
• How their transaction process works (number of steps, number of field forms, etc.);   
• The ways they use to attract potential customers;   
• Whether they have social media and how they manage it. 

It is recommended to use professional tools  

Professional tools can be used to analyze our competitors. They provide the most important data on companies similar to us that operate on the market. It is possible to check the reach of a particular brand in social media, its image, the reaction of users, the popularity of the content it publishes, reaching its audience, etc. There are plenty of professional programs to choose from:   

• Google Analytics;
• Google Ads;  
• Sotrender;   
• BRAND24. 
• Senuto;   
• Ahrefs;   

What can we learn from market analysis?   

Market analysis allows one to gain a great deal of information about potential customers. Therefore, we can find out what their main purchasing needs are and what play a major role in choosing a particular sales platform (such as service standards, delivery methods and payment methods). There is no doubt that the e-commerce industry guarantees a wide field for selling services and products. Achieving success depends, for example, on the marketing activities carried out and the type of sales platform you choose. It is worth choosing one that will support the development of our business, and thus guarantee the highest quality of our services. 

A Unique offer  in e-commerce

Customers appreciate originality and unconventionality. How to create an offer that will attract customers to your e-commerce store?    

Customize your e-commerce site   

Visitors who find you online see your company’s website as their first point of contact. Therefore, its landing page can either make or break your business. Your website can attract customers and scare them away at the same time. That’s why it’s important to make your online store attractive.    

Know your target audience   

First of all, you need to perform a deep study of the basic questions about your customers. Find out what type of consumer buys your products or services and why. Determine what they want and what is the best approach to deliver products to them.   

Develop social media channels   

Social media allows you to interact, share and communicate with your target audience, who can turn into paying customers. Make sure you are using the right social channels for your brand. Remember to take care of two aspects in particular:   

• Create engaging content   
• Post high-quality images 

Optimize product lists   

By optimizing product lists, we mean choosing keywords from the long tail, creating informative product descriptions and increasing visibility in search engines. Product lists should include all the details needed to answer basic customer questions, such as size, color and material. Once you’ve prepared the necessary elements, make sure your product listings are consistent in all of your marketing channels. 

What are the benefits of having a unique offer?   

A unique offer shows that the brand has a lot to provide, creates its own trends. In this way you can stand out from thousands of other companies in the industry. This makes your product more easily remembered by customers. 

How can Droplo help you create a unique offer?   

It’s important to stand out from the thousands of different brands operating in the e-commerce industry. What sets Droplo apart from the competition?   

1. Time savings – thanks to processes automation, groups of price or inventory mark-ups and database integration, e-commerce owners get access to a huge assortment. At the same time, they don’t have to engage their time painstakingly filtering offers and introducing new products, as well as updating a product base that is constantly changing.   
2. Market expansion – Droplo allows you to quickly expand your assortment and offer your customers more and more products.   
3. Unlimited assortment – from now on, you don’t have to spend hours searching for suppliers – just conveniently filter both them and their products. Using Droplo, you get access to an almost unlimited assortment in one place.   
4. Product validation – Droplo allows you to see if your customers are even interested in the products you’ve selected without investing money in buying them. All you have to do is add them to your online store.   
5. Outsourcing – the supplier is responsible for shipping the goods and handling the order in most cases. You will be left with more time for promotional activities and business development.   
6. Calculator – helps you determine the volume of sales in your chosen product group to achieve your projected profits.   
7. Education – our educational materials will help you achieve your planned financial results. 

Marketing   

Without taking care of consumers’ needs, it’s hard to make a name for yourself in the e-commerce industry. Here are some tips on what marketing activities to take to attract customers and increase sales.  

Responsive website    

If your store is badly designed, you lose customers. Take care of every detail: aesthetically pleasing graphics, fonts that are readable and fit the page properly, responsive website (adjusting it to the dimensions of different devices). Make sure you group your products appropriately. Maybe you are putting too many products on one page? Have you found the right balance between text and graphics?  

Personalization     

Using behavioral data, visitor receive a personalized experience according to his/her previous actions and preferences. Personalization can increase sales up to a dozen percent. It’s worth taking location into account to adjust your offer to where your customers are at the moment.  

Minimize shopping cart abandonment    

Customers often abandon their shopping carts when they are unsure about a purchase due to its final price or the product itself. You can significantly reduce shopping cart abandonment. Take advantage of techniques that speed up and improve the payment process. Make sure your action calls and product descriptions are clear, don’t include excessive advertising, and don’t ask the user to provide too much personal information.  

What else is worth remembering?    

• Create an email list and implement an email marketing strategy;
• Create unique and educational content;
• Post user reviews on the site;
• Provide the best customer service;
• Create a marketing strategy and be active on social media.

E-commerce marketing tools   

We have at our disposal a great number of marketing tools and platforms that can be used for various marketing activities carried out by your company:    

• Droplo – expansion of product offerings and ready-made e-commerce integrations   
• Messenger – direct contact with customers    
• Canva – creation of graphics, banners, audiovisual content 
• TradeAnalytics – the basic sales analysis tool on Allegro    
• RedCart – a collection of key tools for e-commerce  

What forms of advertising will be effective in marketing?    

• Running a company blog;     
• Conducting contests with prizes;   
• Sending promotional emails to customers;    
• Creating a newsletter for a particular brand;    
• Creating humorous content on social media.  

E-commerce customer service   

Customer satisfaction should be one of the most important challenges of any self-respecting company. What measures are worth taking to increase satisfaction and loyalty to your brand?     

• Enable easy returns;    
• Study satisfaction levels;    
• Ask for feedback on the purchase;    
• Remind customers of an abandoned shopping cart;    
• Ensure perfect customer service;    
• Reward customers (e.g., discount codes);    
• Ensure the highest quality of your products;    
• Interact with your customers, for example, on your brand’s social media profiles.  

What affects the quality of customer service?    

Proper customer service is the key. What factors will set your store apart from the vast competition operating in the e-commerce industry?    

• Response time – try to respond as quickly as possible to messages and any comments (both by phone and email). Resolve problems in real time.   
• Customer support 24 hours a day – it’s a good idea to have a hotline and Chatbot for customers so they can get help at any time.     
• Online store support platform – this is an important factor, so opt for a platform that will guarantee customer service with the highest standards – at every stage of order processing.    
• Logistics – the processing time of an order should be as short as possible, from the moment the order is placed, through its shipment and delivery to the customer. Therefore, undertake cooperation only with the best shipping carriers.  

How to behave when a customer is dissatisfied?     

It may happen that the customer is dissatisfied with the product or service received. How to deal with such a situation? Try to respond quickly to comments. Don’t argue and be polite and in control. Apologize to the customer for the situation and try to offer him the most convenient solution for him (exchange of goods, refund) along with a small gratification for his expenses, such as a discount code.  

Prices    

With the rapid development of the e-commerce industry, more and more companies are entering the market. What measures are worth taking to successfully compete on prices with other online stores?    

Focus on product quality and current trends    

E-commerce brands that are gaining the most popularity are those that offer new and exciting products. Therefore, you need to stay on top of trends and the latest technology to have an advantage. Remember that the attraction of an item or service should also be followed by quality.     

Ensure unique branding    

Your potential customers are constantly bombarded with ads from various e-commerce sites. It makes it difficult to break through their sensory overload when you present yourself like the rest. Branding is the foundation of your company’s identity.     

Simplify navigation    

Try to make your site’s user experience intuitive for the customer based on responsiveness. You can also include audio-visual content, such as photos or videos that show how to use a product or that include an instruction manual.     

Build engagement    

It is important to build authentic relationships with current and potential customers. Social media platforms offer a great way to interact with customers in real time.     

Become part of something bigger    

Instead of selling on your own – take advantage of what platforms offer. This will help you reach more customers with your products and provide support for your business in the e-commerce world.  

What actions are worth taking to increase markups and boost profits?    

• Optimize supplier relationships;    
• Increase average order value;   
• Establish a discount policy in advance;  
• Improve your operations and reduce operating costs;    
• Implement more sensible purchasing practices for your business;   
• Upgrade your brand and increase the perceived value of your goods.  

Summary   

The e-commerce market is developing at a very fast pace. Every year, several thousand new online stores are created in Poland. How to gain an advantage over the competition and convince customers in such a situation? At the beginning, it is worth focusing on market analysis and creating a unique offer. You should also focus on marketing activities. They must be well thought out and effectively promote the online store. It is also necessary to ensure customer satisfaction, for example through attractive prices and optimizing margins. Negative feedback and complaints must also be dealt with effectively. All these activities affect the trust and increase the importance of our brand on the market, and thus stand out from the huge competition.

Droplo is an innovative platform for businesses to optimize and automate online sales from one place. The proposed solutions meet the needs of both suppliers and retailers. Easy establishment of cooperation, security, availability and synchronization of databases allow scaling business for both parties.     

You will gain all of this by joining Droplo’s users’ base. 

See also: 

• The e-commerce trends. How to boost your store’s sales? Part 1

• The e-commerce trends. How to boost your store’s sales? Part 2